In the world today fossil fuels including coal, oil, and natural gas, make up 85% of the world’s energy. These fuel sources are used inefficiently in combustion systems and are non-renewable resources. One alternative energy source, that can potentially replace the current systems, is the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The current commercially available SOFC anode is comprised of nickel mixed with yttria stabilized zirconium, or Ni/YSZ. This current anode material can activate a methane fuel source but can show signs of device degradation brought upon by unwanted graphite formations. The use of the mixed ionic and electronic conduction (MIEC) material, Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-∂ (SFMO), will be explored as a potential replacement for the NI/YSZ traditional anode material. Preliminary result show that the SFMO material shows and enhancement in device performance when operating with a hydrogen fuel source. It is theorized that this increase in performance in provided by an increase in the three-phase boundary reactive zone of these anode when SFMO is used. However, it was observed that SFMO had minimal activation when used in the presence of a methane fuel source. To improve the fuel catalytic properties of the SFMO material in the presence of a methane fuel source, the incorporation of nickel into the microstructure and crystal structure of SFMO, making Sr2(NixFe1.5-x)Mo0.5O6-δ (SFNMO), will be explored. Through the incorporation of nickel both in the crystal and microstructure exhibited and improvement of methane activation which resulted in higher standard operating voltages and an increase in power performance of these devices. In addition to nickel incorporation, the internal oxidative and steam reforming of methane was also explored in an attempt to further enhance the methane fuel utilization over the advanced anode material. It was observed that there was an enhancement when there was an increase in oxygen into the methane fuel stream of the SOFC device. However, when steam reforming was conducted there was an immediate degradation of the electrochemical system. This degradation is a result of the SFMO and SFNMO crystal lattice breaking down in this humidified environment as verified by X-ray Diffraction patterns.

Utilization of methane fuel in solid oxide fuel cells with nickel incorporated Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-∂ anode catalysts

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.